Horse Bucking?

I have a 16 year old thoroghbred gelding who gets a cold back in the winter. I have recently gotten him consistintly on the bit and he has been bucking a lot more than usual. He is really super gentle and sweet and is a calm and fantastic riding horse, dressage, jumping, cross-country, galloping, trail riding, you name it he does it. He is great with riders advanced through beginer and we think it is a pain problem he is responding with bucks to. Anyone got any ideas to make him happier?

Horse Bucking?
I used to ride/train an ottb mare that had this issue! And it would get especially bad if you put your leg on to keep her from sucking back. I take it that the bucking particularly happens when you first pick up a canter? This is what happened with the mare that I trained - at the trot she would be a bit grumpy but by the time we reached picking up a canter, she just kept bucking. We tried everything (changing saddles/fitting saddles, different wither pads, saddle pads, etc.), but nothing seemed to work.





What did work though, was a nice, slow warm up adding in transitions galore at the walk/trot. When I rode her by myself, I would spend about 45 minutes just working at the walk and trot. At that point I would put her on a 20 m. circle and pick up a canter. I would stay in my 3-point (of half seat) to stay light off of her back AND I would make sure to move my hips with her motion. It felt weird at first, but she seemed to be MUCH happier when I did this. After a couple of circles when she was happy, I would SSLLLOOOWWWLLLYYY sit down into the saddle.





Of course, in lessons you don't have 45 minutes to get all warmed up, but what worked wonders was if she was grumpy particularly at the trot, my coach got me to take a 3-point once again and gallop her around the ring a couple of times and that seemed to loosen her up and make her happy again. In the late spring/summer and into early fall she seemed pretty ok and didn't need much of this, however winter was the main problem for her since the winters here are so cold.
Reply:If you can rule out illness, leg or hoof trouble, then be sure of your saddle's fit.


If all of that checks out, then I would find a reputable equine massage therapist or chiropractor.
Reply:it may be from a pain in his back. he is 16 and getting up in age which may cause problems in the future. was he raced? because it may be an injury from a racing accident that is ketching up with him.
Reply:I'm confused here - you say you have had the saddle fitted but then say that you use a thick pad and a wither pad because it helps the fit ?


If the saddle was fitted properly then these thick pads may actually be the problem - causing pressure where there shouldn't be any. I'd start by trying out using a simple thin pad and see how he goes with that. If there was still no difference then I'd be getting someone in to look at that back again.
Reply:It seems like that bone chip is probably whats bothering him. but at the same time why only in the winter? it could be just really bad arthritis in his back or something. I would give him a good glucose supplament or something like that and see if that helps. Have you thought about tryin advanced cetyl m?
Reply:I would have the chiro work him again and also have his hock looked at. Depending on what you are willing to spend and the time you are willing to take, there are many different options for you. Simple streching before riding him or even getting his hock injected with steroids could do the trick. I've heard acupuncture can do miracles but I've never seen it for myself. Talk to your vet about possilbe options for joint pain and to the chiro about displacement and streching. He is more than likely experiencing pain somewhere, now all you have to do is teach him to talk and tell you where...;)
Reply:Maybe he has back pain ,stomach,hoof or leg pain. I would take him to the vet just in case something is wrong.
Reply:Check the saddle first- if he's cold-backed WITH a poor-fitting saddle, the poor guy is definitely going to buck.





Get him chiropracted.





Make sure he is getting conflicting aids from the weaker riders- it could also be simple annoyance.





DEFINITELY check the saddle first, though.
Reply:i myself have a horse with back problems. Mine has scoliosis. I have had a chiropractor come out and try to straighten him out and i have also had someone do a massage on him. Those two helped him a lot. I also put him on bute for a night after he recieved these because it would feel different to him after getting all this done. To soothe any pain he could of had i only gave him a very small dose. I would say to double check with your vet on what to do. In the mean time i would have a chiropractor come out and evaluate him. They can help you a lot due to them specializing in that area. Good luck.